Hush Little Baby
by Princess Pinky
Summary: Ben and John spend some quality time together while Amy gets some much needed rest.


**A/N:** This idea just came to me and I had to do it because…well duh, it's Ben, Amy, and John!

_**Hush Little Baby**_

"Is Amy home?" Ben asked, glancing cautiously at his girlfriend's mother. He mentally noted that she looked way too tired. He'd noticed lately, as much as he was over at their house, that she'd also put on quite a bit of weight. He had his suspicions about that, but he'd never voice them, that would be too rude.

"Y-y-yeeeah," Anne spoke, other she was interrupted in the middle by a yawn and had to cover her hand with her mouth. She blinked tiredly and stepped aside, allowing Ben entrance into the home. "She's in her room," she said, pointing her arm.

"Thanks." Ben nodded politely. "You look like you could use some rest."

"Well between John not being able to sleep through the night and…and everything else, that's been a little tough."

Ben smiled weakly. "Sorry."

"It's alright."

"If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

"Thanks, Ben." Anne smiled sleepily and they stood awkwardly in the entry way until she closed the door and trudged off with nothing but a half-wave.

Ben slugged his shoulders and shuffled towards Amy's room. It was a routine he'd come to know so well he could do it unconsciously. As he approached her door, though, he noticed that the light was on and it was filtering through a crack because the door was ajar. He hesitated, wondering if Ricky was inside. Tentatively, he placed his head to the door, listening for sounds of his girlfriend's one night stand. He heard nothing.

"Amy?" Ben waited, but got no answer. "Amy?" he asked again. "Are you in there? Your mom said you were…" he pinched his left eye closed and leaned towards the crack, trying to see if Amy was inside. He didn't want to walk in on her at an odd moment, like breastfeeding or something, but he still couldn't see anything. Lightly, he raised his fist and rapped his knuckles against the wood. Still, he received no answer, so he knocked slightly louder, but again, nothing.

Ben frowned and lightly pushed the door with his fingertips. It slipped open enough for him to see inside. Amy was conked out on her bed, sleeping comfortably, or so she appeared. For that, Ben was glad. He knew his girlfriend – wife – had been so stressed lately and hardly been able to get any sleep since John was born. He sighed and turned to leave, not wanting to wake her from the rest he knew she desperately deserved.

Then he heard something: a small cooing. He paused mid-step, with the toe of his shoe pressed against the carpet and the heel still stuck in the air. He turned slowly, glancing over his shoulder, and heard the noise again. Gradually, the noise grew louder, until it reached a soft whimper. Ben began to shake his head. "Oh no. No, no," he whispered. "Don't cry!" He raised his hands from the doorway, as if he was expecting the child to stop, but the noise only seemed to grow.

Ben winced and found himself walking into the bedroom as Amy's nose twitched in her sleep. He peered over the bassinet to find John with a pink, scrunched face that was gradually growing darker and darker like a burner on an oven. He hesitated, looking around for a binky, and spotted one at the corner of the bassinet. "Is that what you want?" he asked. He grabbed the pacifier and slid it into John's mouth, promptly halting the growing eruption. Ben sighed with relief and stepped back. "Thank goodness…" he mumbled under his breath.

Then he noticed the pacifier was lying in the bassinet again and John was gearing up for another cry. Without thinking, he scooped the child up from the bassinet. He awkwardly held the one-month-old, not sure what to do. He tried to remember how Amy did it. The only time he'd held him before had been the day he was born, and that hadn't worked out so well, so Ben had been afraid to hold him afterwards.

"Come on," he pleaded in a whisper. "You mom really needs her sleep. What do you want? I can try to get it for you, but I don't know what you want…do you want a bottle? To be changed?" his mind was running a mile a minute with possibilities. He jiggled the infant softly. "Hush little baby," he whispered shakily, "hush little baby don't say a word…Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing, Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy you a diamond ring…and if that diamond ring turns brass, Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy a looking glass…"

Ben began to pace around the room, rocking John quietly in his arms as he searched his brain for the rest of the words to the song. It had been so long since he'd heard it. Only a tiny child himself the last time his mother had sung it to him. He repeated, "And if that diamond ring turns brass, Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy you a looking glass…and if that looking glass…_gets broke,_ Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy you a billy goat! And if that billy goat won't pull, Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy you a…cart and bull. And if that cart and bull turn over, Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy you a dog named Rover."

Ben chuckled to himself. As a child, he had gotten a dog named Rover. Somehow Sarah, his mother, had talked his father into it, though Leo had been sure Ben was too young for a dog. Ben smiled at the memory, until John's gentle coos brought him back. "Right," he grinned, "whenever you want a Rover, just let me know." He sat down in the chair in the corner of Amy's room and began to hum again. "And if that dog named Rover won't bark, Step-Daddy Ben is gonna buy you a horse and cart. And if that horse and cart fall down, you'll still be the most handsome Juergens in town."

Ben stared down at John's little face. His eyes had closed and he was breathing peacefully in Ben's arms. Ben couldn't help but feel so proud he thought he might actually explode. Not only had he gotten John quiet again, but he'd done so without anyone else's help. He beamed. "Thank you," he whispered. "I know that you and I didn't really get off to a good start, but I hope we can fix that. I really do love you, John. And your mom too."

"And his mom loves you too."

Ben glanced up to see Amy smiling sleepily at him from her bed. He looked alarmed. "Oh!" his face fell, "Did I wake you? You mom said you were in here and I was gonna leave but John ,he woke up and-"

"It's fine," Amy interrupted. Her face was calm and demur. "I really appreciate you looking after John and letting me sleep." Her eyes fell on her newborn. "And I guess it's just what you two needed, huh? A little boy bonding time." She sat up and ran her fingers across her hair to smooth it. "This is the best thing I could've woken up to: the two boys I love most in the whole world getting along." She held her hand up to her mouth and blew two kisses across it, one for John and one for Ben.

Ben held up his hand and pretended to catch one, which he then pressed to his lips. With the second, however, he held up his hand and slid it through the air and pressed his fingers lightly to John's cheek. Then he held his hand to his mouth and blew two kisses back.


End file.
